People Drive Policy

We are continuing to deconstruct how both the policies and personalities of this new government might affect issues critical to our industry.  

Last Wednesday, Steve Hall and our Advocacy team held a post-election briefing for our member firms. Infrastructure and taxes will be high on the agenda for the 119th Congress. There is a lot of valuable insight in this Advocacy briefing and I would encourage you to watch it.

As to the new Administration, we anticipate Trump 2.0 will bring about broad shifts in the economic and regulatory landscape, particularly environmental regulations. 

Here’s What We Know So Far:

Sean Duffy, a television commentator and former WI Congressman, is Trump’s pick to head the DOT.

• ACEC worked with then-Congressman Duffy on several legislative initiatives during his tenure in the House. He received a 78% and 84% ACEC scorecard rating in the 114th and 115th Congresses.
• Although he supported many pro-business and infrastructure bills in Congress, including FAA reauthorization and biennial WRDA bills, Duffy voted no on the FAST Act, the 5-year surface transportation law enacted in 2015. 

Lee Zeldin, a former NY Congressman, is Trump’s nominee to head EPA. 

• He’s been known within ACEC for his bipartisan work on environmental issues like PFAS and water quality in the Long Island Sound. 
• Although he was a member of the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House, he opposed the Inflation Reduction Act.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Interior. 

• Burgum supports increased domestic energy production and mining on public lands.
• He will also lead the National Energy Council, which will consist of all Departments and Agencies involved in permitting and production of energy.

Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Energy, a Denver-based fracking company, is Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Energy.

• Wright studied engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and helped develop fracking technology.
• He’s an oil executive who also supports the development of nuclear power.  

What Else to Consider: 

• The incoming administration plans to reverse Biden’s climate policies, including exiting the Paris Accord and halting new offshore wind projects.
• They aim to expedite permits for traditional energy projects and prioritize oil and gas leases.
• Water policy may revert to Trump’s first term policies, redefining WOTUS and potentially revisiting PFAS standards.
• A recent court ruling challenged the White House’s authority over environmental reviews, impacting project delivery and NEPA implementation.

What’s Next: 

• Federal agencies might need to create standalone NEPA regulations, which could complicate interagency coordination, stall pending regulatory reviews, and make initiatives to streamline the permitting process, like One Federal Decision, more difficult. Information on how this ruling will affect agencies and the engineering industry is still unfolding, and the ACEC advocacy team will be monitoring developments closely over the coming weeks. 
• In the infrastructure space, the next Trump Administration will take charge of implementing the last two years of the IIJA and will need to work with Congress on what comes after the law expires in 2026.
• Much of the unused funding from IIJA is potentially at risk as the new Administration looks to establish its own agenda, but Congress may become the primary driver in developing a new surface transportation program that could become an opportunity for bipartisan cooperation.

 Our Take: People Drive Policy

• Regardless of party control, the individuals behind policies shape outcomes.
• This underscores the importance of relationship building and advocacy in Washington and among the states. 
• For our part, we’re prepared to be accommodating when it’s possible – and to fight when it’s necessary. That never changes, even when everything else does. 

One More Thing: The ACEC Research Institute’s Annual Achievement Report for FY23-24 is now available online. You can view it here. The Institute also released the second edition of its popular Diversity Roadmap in conjunction with Zweig Group. The Roadmap is a comprehensive, data-driven tool to help engineering firms assess the maturity of their inclusion programs. Download the report here.